The meening of kwanzaa

[BewareofNick]

>happy kwanzaa, maybe it will be used as a time by you and

>your family to reflect on your white priviledge that you

>didnt do anything to earn but are fighting so desperately to

>keep.

 

Craig, that is a sadly limited worldview and so totally wrong. Here you are judging everyone by the color of their skin. Who's the racist here?

[Guest RydeMyButt]

RE: kwanzaa Craig -- Character or Caricature

 

My goodness...I go away for a few days for New Years, and the topic takes a sudden and drastic turn.

 

At the risk of being redundant, I have to admit that I, too, am starting to wonder if ole' Craig is a caricature.

 

Not that most people who live in San Francisco aren't caricatures, but I think that Craig is beyond the pale...

 

But just in case he is real, the following is a response to one or two of his vapid comments in reply to my earlier email:

 

First and foremost, I couldn't begin to give a shit whether other people celebrate Kwanzaa. It does begin to matter to me when these idiots attempt to force ME to celebrate it, or even acknowledge it. The next thing you know, Kwanzites will start to want time off from work (well, those who have jobs will want time off from work) to celebrate it, television will start to show smarmy Kwanzaa shows ("Rudolph and Frosty meet the unhappy Kwanzaa Log") and I will have to start looking at more and more people dressed in what they think are "authentic African fabrics" but what are in reality Portuguese imported jaquard fabrics. And those goofy hats.

 

As a result, what set me off was Craig's officious determination to spread the Good News of Kwanzaa in such an offensive manner.

 

Now, with regard to some other comments:

 

In a comparison between Europe and the US - true, there was a time when black men were lynched by angry mobs. But it should also be remembered that, during the 1930's and 1940's, when the lynching of black men was in the tens or hundreds, these same enlightened Europeans were gleefully imprisoning and exterminating Jews, Communists, homosexuals, Gypsies, etc., etc., etc. And EVERY country in Europe participated - some reluctantly (such as Denmark and Norway) and other enthusiastically (such as France, which annually EXCEEDED its quota of Jews).

 

Or if that is too far away in time to matter, let's consider the Turkish immigrants in Germany who are beaten and killed by neo-Nazi skinheads, or the "coloured" (ie. Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, etc.) immigrants in England who are beaten and killed by neo-Nazi National Front skinheads, or all the Roman Catholics/Muslims/Orthodox Christians who have been killed by their former friends and neighbors in the former Yugoslavia...the list can go on and on.

 

But Craig is obviously one of those "Blame America First" people who regularly throw out the term "oppressed" without any real idea what it truly means.

 

For those of you who are dictionarily challenged, the primary definition of "oppression" is "The arbitrary and cruel exercise of power. So no matter how you look at it, there is NO "oppression" in the United States. Gays, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc., etc., may be the objects of prejudism and discrimination; but prejudism and discrimination isn't the same as oppression.

 

I realize this will touch a nerve with some people - particularly those who value their status as Professional Victims. But if gays were truly oppressed, the Army would be surrounding every one of our Gay Pride parades and either start shooting, or rounding us all up and packing us off to camps somewhere.

 

In the final analysis, Kwanzaa is like a plethora of other "holidays". Important to those to whom they matter, but utterly irrelevant to everyone else. And just to be clear, I would have responded in the same way (particularly if the original post had been as astoundingly stupid as Craig's) to someone informing me that I needed to celebrate Rosh Hashana or Wesak, or any variety of other cultural or religious holidays which have no bearing on my life.

 

Finally, I note that Craig has been very careful to avoid saying that he, himself, is Black (or even African-American, though this is not the same thing, as my Egyptian and Morroccan "African-American" friends regularly tell me). Not that this really matters, because Black or White, Craig remains the stupidest person I have ever come across (if he isn't in fact a very funny caricature), but considering how utterly self-righteous he has sounded, I'm willing to bet that if he was Black (or, despite what he may say now, is ACTUALLY Black), he would have played that card much earlier.

 

Now, what I want to know is, what did everyone do to celebrate the Feast of Jesus's Circumcision yesterday?

 

Cheers, and Happy New Year.

[Traveller]

>of course the subject put you off - its an african holiday,

>celebrating african culture. why would a fat old hateful

>self-centerd white asshole like you care about it?

 

Yeah, Craig. But what about really, really rich young built good looking ASSHOLES like me.

 

Later.